Gold Excellence in Economic Development

I am pleased to share that I won three Gold Excellence in Economic Development Awards for a China Investment and Trade Campaign, a project in the category of Video, New Media and Specialty Website of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

The honors were presented at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 19, during the IEDC Annual Conference, which was held Sept. 17 – 20, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

“On behalf of the IEDC board of directors and Excellence in Economic Development Awards Advisory Committee, congratulations…participation in the awards program sheds light on…stellar projects which other communities can now use as a benchmark.” – Michael Langley, FM, CEO of GREATER MSP, Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN, and 2017 IEDC Board Chair

The 3 IEDC Gold Awards for video, new media and specialty website are a result of a multichannel marketing strategy deployed in-country in China using cutting-edge technology and creative strategies to generate new leads and increase website traffic.

“The awards process is a thorough, non-biased and multi-layered process. These are extraordinary accomplishments for all winners, and an overall great effort by all participants. We look forward to next year’s awards competition,” Langley said.

About the International Economic Development Council
The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is a non-profit membership organization serving economic developers. With more than 5,000 members, IEDC is the largest organization of its kind. Economic developers promote economic well-being and quality of life for their communities, by creating, retaining and expanding jobs that facilitate growth, enhance wealth and provide a stable tax base. From public to private, rural to urban, and local to international, IEDC’s members are engaged in the full range of economic development experience. Given the breadth of economic development work, our members are employed in a wide variety of settings including local, state, provincial and federal governments, public-private partnerships, chambers of commerce, universities and a variety of other institutions. Among many activities which benefit the economy, IEDC’s members create high-quality jobs and develop vibrant communities. www.iedcONLINE.org.

Award Submission

Georgia’s relationship with China is very important. We operate two offices in China – one is in Shanghai and the other is in Qingdao. Georgia exports to China have grown by 59% since 2007, exceeding $2.5 billion in 2016. The Sentury Tire announcement in Troup County, Georgia in September 2016, which represented 1,000 jobs and $530M in investment, is just one example of the 50+ Chinese companies operating in the state today.

These factors and many others were the catalyst for pursuing a new international investment video for China that would be used in digital marketing both nationally and internationally, in prospect meetings here in Georgia and abroad, as well as on international missions to China with the Governor’s office and various delegations.

It was extremely important that this new China video be credible, informative, different than your typical marketing video, and in their native language.

The video would then be further bolstered by a multi-channel approach using digital marketing.

Primary Goals

The goal of this project was to create a Chinese investment video that would represent the business and lifestyle environment of Georgia, as well as showcase the Chinese companies that have already chosen Georgia as a place in which to do business.

The completed video would ultimately give senior-level decision makers from China a good understanding of what it would be like to live and work in the state. Through their experience with the video, they would ideally put Georgia on their short list of places to consider locating or expanding their company.

The video would also need to work well in 15 and 30 second commercials to be shown in China through targeted placements in both paid and earned media channels as well as hosted on Georgia, USA’s branded video, social and web properties both nationally and internationally.

The video would be further bolstered by supporting website and social media strategies and channels both nationally and internationally.

Impact

The video has been extremely well-received and has served as one of the primary vehicles for our Chinese web presence on Georgia.org (http://www.georgia.org/international-business-china) as well as our new in-country Chinese website WeSpeakBusiness.cn. In addition, it is prominently featured on our new WeChat site, YOUKU account and Tencent.

Furthermore, we have seen a 200% increase in traffic from China to Georgia.org since the video was launched. And since its launch in late March 2016, WeSpeakBusiness.cn has so far received 20,000 Unique Visitors.

Note: We use IP recognition to serve dedicated Chinese widgets and web pages on Georgia.org to visitors from China. In addition, the Chinese flag with a link to this section of the website is prominently displayed in the header of the Georgia.org. You can see some of that experience here – http://www.georgia.org/international-business-china

Lessons Learned

Taking the time and money to capture the life of an international person living and working abroad is incredibly effective in developing an emotional connection with the viewer. One only needs to watch the video to see this is indeed the case. But it takes a lot of careful negotiation and time to develop the trust and ultimately convince a very busy and private executive to invest the time it takes to create this kind of video. Before a video camera is ever turned on we have done quite a few things:

– An extensive amount of research on the company’s brand, operations, employees, and competitors.
– Met with company executives and stakeholders.
– Thought very carefully about the target audience and any cultural nuances.
– What kind of supporting locations and footage would bolster the story?
– How much can we realistically cover with the budget available?
– How much crew do we need?
– What filming permits do we need?
– What will be the timing for each shoot and where?

Once the video shoots have taken place there is a considerable amount of time spent selecting the right scenes and quotes, conducting the translations, developing the script and choosing music.

Takeaways

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Video marketing is not new. But how these stories were approached and crafted is not only creative but very effective in bridging the gap between two very different cultures.

We have pursued some very innovative measures to publish the videos in China by getting beyond the great firewall of China and hosting our own native website, establishing a WeChat account to bolster the conversation in China, and investing in key influence leaders like Cheung Kong Business Review to further carry our message and results.

Both 15 and 30 second commercials were cut from the full length video to satisfy different audience behaviors and publishing channels.

By using IP recognition on Georgia.org we are able to serve dedicated widgets and landing pages to Chinese visitors that prominently feature our new video as well as our WeChat account.

We have also setup dynamic synching across both our American and China sites to ensure the translations and data are always up-to-date in real time.